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Supporting Veterans and Families in Conquering PTSD
As the echoes of war fade, a different kind of battle wages on for many courageous veterans who return home. An estimated 6% of US adults, or 6 out every 100 people, will be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), at some point in their lifetime. In veterans, it increases to 7 out of...
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The NYSPA Report: PTSD and It’s Co-Morbidities
Posttraumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. The following data shows the gravity of the problem posed due to PTSD. The National...
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PTSD Among Veterans: A Signature Wound that Desperately Needs Healing
Veterans returning to civilian life from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from tragically high rates of mental and substance use disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become a hallmark injury among returning veterans, with a prevalence rate of approximately 20 percent—a rate two...
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Person Within
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is not an inherent weakness in facing difficulty, nor is it a flaw in an individual’s personality, belief system, or values. The development and intensity of PTSD symptoms is concordant with the intensity and duration of the stressful event encountered. The...
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Online Toolkit Aims to Support Mental Health Providers Serving Veterans in the Community
The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a new online Community Provider Toolkit (www.mentalhealth.va.gov/communityproviders) aimed at delivering support, therapeutic tools, and resources to community providers treating Veterans for mental health concerns. “Many Veterans seek mental...
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Looking Beyond PTSD: Are We Ready for Our Returning Heroes?
With an estimated 30,000 troops expected home from Afghanistan next month, the question that must be asked is: “Is the United States ready to accept these veterans back into society? Is it ready to help them reacclimate, re-socialize, and reintegrate?” The answer is not a simple yes or no. To...
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Integrative Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders in Service Members, Veterans, and Military Families in a Civilian Inpatient Setting
Since September 11th, 2001, over two million United States service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Multiple factors related to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Global War on Terror (e.g., multiple deployments, length of deployments, intensity and nature of combat...
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Healing PTSD Through Relationship and Touch
When six-year-old Mandi* came to us, she had suffered significant trauma in her early years from a drug-addicted mother, a father in prison, and several disrupted foster placements. She reacted to any limit setting with uncontrollable tantrums, terrorizing and discouraging her latest well-meaning...
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Accessing the Untouchables: The Touch Points to Change
Effective treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) requires helping the trauma survivor find ways of acknowledging the role of past trauma in shaping his or her present experience and creating a vision for the future. Without a roadmap, this seemingly simple task may confound both...
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Survivors of Sexual Abuse: A Personal Journey
As part of the Personalized Recovery Oriented Services program at the Mental Health Association of Rockland County, Inc. that began earlier this year, a group named Survivors of Sexual Abuse-Women was launched. This closed group, led by Marian Rhein, LCSWR, was designed to serve the needs of women...
